I resisted for years to go high speed and paid 9.95 a month with netzero. Once I finally upgraded I would get a part time job if necessary just to pay for it. It is an incredible time waster and if you need to be online for your business why put that in jeopardy?
You may pay more for your internet if you were to downgrade your TV package but do you realize you can watch a lot of shows online now? Our cable was disconnected a year ago and we lived until this fall without when DH had it connected one day. I find that with it I waste a lot more time glued to the TV and have a harder time getting things done. With 2 small children my new favorite is to spend a few hours on the weekend when they are sleeping catching up on my favorite ABC shows. I can watch at my leisure and sometimes catch up on the past 2-3 week worth of shows. i no longer plan my life around missing Desperate Housewives! If you only had internet you could save quite a bit of money per month.
I would recommend checking with your utility company to see if they offer energy audits. I'm not sure how much square feet you are heating but we live in Minnesota, heat 1000 sq ft house and 1200 sq foot garage and our highest bill was $250 for gas & electric. I scheduled one this summer and it was eye opening for sure. Our house was built in the 50's and it leaks horribly. Little things like caulking around the windows, resealing your windows, covering windows in plastic, resealing your doors and kick plates and putting insulation foam pieces behind your electrical outlets has made a HUGE difference in our house.
It is very important that you routinely have your furnace serviced. I always thought that was hooey but after having it done this fall we cut our furnace run time down to half of what it was taking. You also mentioned a fireplace. If this is wood fireplace they are a HUGE energy waster as your warm air goes right out the huge hole in the wall if you are not using it. Make sure your flue is closed and it may look silly but have someone measure a piece of wood that would fit in the hole and then tack that pink styrofoam insulation to it. You could use that to cover the hole when your fireplace is not in use.
I am not sure what kind of insurance drug coverage you have but check to see if they offer an option of mail in service. Our company drug plan offers this and you can 2 months of prescriptions for one co-pay. Also, Walmart now has a list of generic drugs that they give for $4.00 I am not sure how intensive the list is but maybe there are alternatives to some of the stuff you are taking that are on the list.
The only other advice I would have is to check with your doctor/physical therapist to see if you can buy an inversion table. They are relatively inexpensive, maybe $200 for a decent one. My friend has disc problems and her husband hangs her upside down on the clothes line with these moon boot looking things to stretch out her back. It's hilarious and she feels like her own freak show but she swears by it. If you ever watch HSN and see Jack Teeter on there he talks about his Teeter Hangups inversion tables and what a difference inversion has made on his life. You can find his story on their company website as well. I am NOT any type of spokesperson or salesperson or anything else for this company but in theory the idea is super and my chiropractor actually has good things to say as well. I think the Teeter ones are kinda spendy and I have seen cheaper versions online so you would want to do your research first but it may save you a fortune in doctor bills.
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